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10 Themes of Geography in North Carolina

1. Location The absolute location of North Carolina is that it’s east of Tennessee and north of South Carolina. North Carolina’s North Latitude is 33 degrees to 37 degrees N Latitude, and 75 degrees to 85 degrees West Longitude. A major city in North Carolina is Chapel Hill, where the University of North Carolina is located and its coordinates are 35 degrees 55’ North Latitude and 79 degrees 05’ West Longitude. The relative location of North Carolina is that it’s bordered by Virginia on the north part of the state, South Carolina and Georgia on the south part of the state, and Tennessee on its west part of the state. The Atlantic Ocean also forms North Carolina’s east coast. Also, North Carolina is considered to be one of the Southeastern States.

2. Place North Carolina can be described as an east coast state with it’s own personality.

Physical Characteristics: Land features, Mountains, Plains, and Plateaus, Climate, and Bodies of Water. North Carolina’s Area- 53,819 square miles North Carolina’s Land Area- 48,708 square miles North Carolina’s Water Area- 5,103 square miles North Carolina’s Highest Point- Mount Mitchell (2,038 meters) North Carolina’s Lowest Point- Atlantic Ocean North Carolina’s Mean Elevation- 700 feet above sea level Human Characteristics: People, Culture, Language, Religion, Building and Landmarks, and Cities.

3. Region North Carolina has 3 different regions- The Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and Mountains.

The Coastal Plain- The low, flat land of North Carolina’s eastern region stretches from the sand farmland of the Inner Coastal Plain to the states Outer Banks, a string of barrier islands separated from the mainland by sounds or inlets. The Outer Banks have three capes: Cape Hatteras (shown in the picture above), Cape Lookout, and Cape Fear. The land and water areas of the Coastal Plain comprise nearly half the area of the State. It may be divided roughly into two sections: the tidewater area, which is in large part flat and swampy, and the interior portion, which is gently sloping and, for the most part, naturally well drained. Throughout both sections of the Coastal Plain, the soils consist of soft sediment, with little or no underlying hard rock near the surface. The average slope is from about 200 feet at the "fall line", or western boundary, to generally less than 50 feet over the tidewater subdivision.

The Piedmont- Piedmont is a French word meaning “foot of the mountain,” and North Carolina’s Piedmont region is sometimes referred to as “the foothills.” The rolling hills of this region range in elevation from just 300 feet in the east to 1,500 feet near the mountains. The Piedmont is sometimes referred to as a plateau because it is high and mostly flat.

The Mountains- Western North Carolina’s majestic landscape features the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Great Smoky Mountains, which help make up the Appalachian Mountains, possibly the oldest mountain range in the United States. The region is also home to Mount Mitchell. Rising 6,684 feet above sea level, Mount Mitchell is the tallest peak east of the Mississippi River. The Eastern Continental Divide runs along the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains, separating the rivers flowing east from those flowing west. Rivers that fall on the eastern side of the divide flow toward the Atlantic Ocean while those on the western side of the divide flow toward the Tennessee and Ohio rivers and into the Gulf of Mexico.

4. Human Environment Interaction How do people in North Carolina depend on their environment? They use the coast to fish and attract tourists. How do people in North Carolina adapt to the environment? By dressing properly for their climate, whether it is summer or winter. How do people in North Carolina modify to their environment? By building different building that can withstand the east coast weather.

5. Movement The mobility of: People, Goods, and Ideas. In other words how places are linked to one another and the whole world. In North Carolina they use movement of people by plane, movement of products by truck or trade, or movement of ideas by mail, Internet, and word of mouth.

6. Climate While North Carolina is located in a warm temperate zone, its diverse regions can experience a great variety of weather conditions. While locations in the mountains may seem average temperatures of 30 degrees Fahrenheit in January and 65 degree Fahrenheit in August, locations in the coastal plains can often experience January averages in the mid 40’s and August averages in the 90’s. The state averages about 44 inches of rainfall each year, and 5 inches of snow. North Carolina has a humid, subtropical climate. Winters are short and mild, while summers are usually very sultry; spring and fall are distinct and refreshing periods of transition. In most of North Carolina, temperatures rarely go above 100°F (38°C) or fall below 10°F (–12°C), but differences in altitude and proximity to the ocean create significant local variations. The coldest temperature ever recorded in North Carolina was –34°F (–37°C), registered on 21 January 1985 on Mt. Mitchell; the hottest, 110°F (43°C), occurred on 21 August 1983 at Fayetteville. With its nearly 7,000-foot range in elevation and 300-mile range from the ocean, North Carolina has one of the most varied climates of any eastern state. Latitude accounts for some climatic variations, as do soils, plant cover, and inland bodies of water. The Gulf Stream has some direct effect on North Carolina temperatures, especially on the immediate coast. Though the Gulf Stream lies some 50 miles offshore, warm water eddies spin off from it and moderate the winter air temperatures along the Outer Banks. Coastal fronts are common during the winter months, and can push inland, bringing warmer than expected temperatures to coastal areas. However, the southern reaches of the cold Labrador Current pass between the Gulf Stream and the North Carolina coast, offsetting most of the general warming effect the Gulf Stream might otherwise have on coastal temperatures. The meeting of the two opposing currents does provide a breeding ground for rough weather. Strong low-pressure systems having their origin there develop into major storms, causing rain along the North Carolina coast and over states to the north as well.

7. Flora & Fauna North Carolina has approximately 300 species and subspecies of trees and almost 3,000 varieties of flowering plants. Coastal plant life begins with sea oats predominating on the dunes and salt meadow and cord grass in the marshes, and then gives way to wax myrtle, yaupon, red cedar, and live oak further inland. Black water swamps support dense stands of cypress and gum trees. Pond pine favors the peat soils of the Carolina bays, while longleaf pine and turkey oak cover the sand hills and other well-drained areas. Weeds take root when a field is abandoned in the piedmont, followed soon by loblolly, shortleaf, and Virginia pine; sweet gum and tulip poplars spring up beneath the pines, later giving way to an oak-hickory climax forest. Dogwood decorates the understory, but kudzu—a rank, weedy vine introduced from Japan, as an anti-erosion measure in the 1930s—is a less attractive feature of the landscape. The profusion of plants reaches extraordinary proportions in the mountains. The deciduous forests on the lower slopes contain Carolina hemlock, silver bell, yellow buckeye, white basswood, sugar maple, yellow birch, tulip poplar, and beech, in addition to the common trees of the piedmont. Spruce and fir dominate the high mountain peaks. There is no true tree line in the North Carolina Mountains, but unexplained treeless areas called "balds" appear on certain summits. Twenty-seven plant species were listed as threatened or endangered.

8. Wind & Ocean Currents The Gulf Stream is a current with a strong influence on the East Coast of the United States. Actually, the Gulf Stream is part of a larger current system, which includes the North Atlantic Current, the Canary Current and the North Equatorial Current. From the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, the Gulf Stream flows north through the Straits of Florida and along Florida's East Coast. When it reaches North Carolina, around Cape Hatteras, it begins to drift off into the North Atlantic towards the Grand Banks near Newfoundland. The Gulf Stream usually travels at a speed of 3 or 4 knots. The Gulf Stream brings warm water from the Caribbean and northern Florida, along the coast of the US, and then east across the Atlantic to Europe. Because it takes a right-hand turn somewhere around North Carolina, the warming effect of its waters misses the Northeast US and Canada, but does reach England and Ireland.

9. Severe Weather The state of North Carolina experiences severe weather conditions; tornadoes, hurricanes, and other tropical storms hit it often. Hurricane Fran, Hurricane Hazel, Hurricane Isabel and Hurricane Floyd to name a few were some of the most destructive hurricanes that have stormed the shores of North Carolina. Most years the greatest economic loss entailed in North Carolina from severe weather is probably due to summer thunderstorms. These storms usually affect only limited areas, but hail and wind occurring with some of them account for an average yearly loss of over $5 million. In any given locality, 40 or 50 thunderstorms may be expected in a year. North Carolina is outside the principal tornado area of the United States, but still averages two to three per year. They occur mostly east of the Mountains during early spring. Tropical hurricanes come close enough to influence North Carolina weather about twice in an average year. Much less frequently, perhaps averaging once in 10 years, these storms strike a part of the State with sufficient force to do much damage to inland property. Coastal properties occasionally suffer severe damage from associated high tides. During the last few decades global warming has held the climatic headlines. The earth's atmosphere as a whole, for whatever reason, has been getting warmer, especially during the last quarter of the 20th century. North Carolina and the rest of the southeastern United States, however, have shown no distinct warming trend during the past 100 years. The Southeast, along with one other region, southeast China, is unique in this. There have been periods of warmer weather, periods of colder weather, but no overall change. The other major aspect of climate, precipitation, has also shown year-to-year variability but no trend in the annual total amounts. This is in line with the rest of the world. But for North Carolina the consistent annual totals mask an important change: summers have been getting drier, while falls are getting wetter. As a consequence, North Carolinians tend to have less water available for their use than they did 100 years ago.

10. Air Quality In most summers North Carolina's weather is dominated by the "Bermuda High" pressure system. This gives calm, virtually cloudless conditions where any pollution placed into the atmosphere remains suspended for an extended period of time. Fortunately, compared to many other states, North Carolina does not support activities, which emit great quantities of pollution. But automobile traffic in the major cities, along with some paper producing and energy generation plants can cause local problems for short periods of time. Additionally, with our winds coming predominantly from a westerly direction, North Carolina also receives pollution from a suite of upwind states. On occasion this can severely reduce visibility in the western mountains, and has been regarded as a major contributor to the presence of acid rain on some of the highest peaks.